The blog site for PPM practitioners and stakeholders across the enterprise

Tuesday May 13, 2014

Join Eskom CIO Sal Laher to hear firsthand how Eskom–the
largest utility in South Africa–has embarked on a transformational journey to
implement the largest infrastructure capital investment portfolio in Africa.
From actionable metrics through to subcontractor management, Eskom is vastly
improving visibility, increasing responsiveness, and driving greater efficiency
across a myriad of critical new builds. The utility is creating significant
numbers of new jobs and strengthening the delivery of basic services to the
people of South Africa in a fast-growing economy. Laher provides information
and experiences from Eskom’s own build program.

Friday May 02, 2014

Productive
maintenance turnarounds are vital to long, successful online periods. Getting
the work done quickly and properly takes more than just luck. Good planning and
excellent communication can lead to safe and efficient outages with fewer
hiccups and less stress.

It’s
no secret that equipment requires maintenance. Just as your personal vehicle
needs an oil change periodically, a power plant needs to shut down regularly
for a tune-up to take care of all those little issues that would otherwise turn
into big problems.

Most
generating companies are preparing for outages continuously. When one outage
ends, plans begin for the next. Often planning is in progress for major
projects years into the future (Figure 1). Work list items that could not be
completed for one reason or another are added to the next outage schedule. The
entire process is a full-time job, often with entire departments focused on the
task.

But
what makes some maintenance periods go smoothly—coming in on budget and on
time—while other outages hemorrhage with cost overruns, unexpected delays, and
continual surprises? It is very difficult to foresee every possible problem,
but planning for contingencies and scheduling appropriately are two vital tasks
required to get all involved parties on the same page.

Tuesday Apr 29, 2014

The
process manufacturing industry is confronting significant infrastructure
problems that heighten risks to operations and leave executives struggling to
bring their ageing facilities into the twenty-first century, according to a new
report by the Economist Intelligence Unit and sponsored by Oracle. One executive put the challenge in stark terms, saying "It takes years to
build a reputation, but one serious infrastructure failure can destroy it."

The report, "The Impact of Aging Infrastructure in
Process Manufacturing Industries," is based on a recent
survey of 366 executives. The research found that aging systems are negatively
impacting—sometimes substantially—companies in oil and gas, utilities,
chemicals, and natural resource industries. A commanding majority—87 percent of
the respondents—said aging infrastructure has impacted operations in the past 3
to 5 years, with 1 in 10 saying they suffered severe consequences that they are
still trying to fix.
But as a group, the executives see a way to improve agility and seize new
opportunities while protecting customers, employees, operations, and corporate
images from costly infrastructure failures. The best solutions involve a blend
of technology, project planning, and due diligence, the report stated. The
executives added that these elements help organizations identify and resolve
problems before crises occur.

Find out how others in the power and energy sector are adapting and developing
new strategies to address the issues of ageing infrastructure. Compare your own
experiences and strategies against those of your peers with Oracle’s interactive
benchmarking
test, take the test and receive a complimentary four-page
personalized report It’s
a simple 5 minute test that gives you an instant graphical snapshot and
recommendations on how to turn your organization’s ageing infrastructure issues
into an opportunity.

Read
the full article in the EPPM Information In-depth newsletter here.

In all the years I’ve worked with the energy and utilities sector,
it seems that two things remain constant: the need to replace or repair ageing
infrastructure and the apparent low level of funds available to many
organizations to do so. In many instances, the infrastructure that these organizations
rely on is ageing faster than it is being replaced. I suspect those tasked with
keeping these assets up and running might recognize the phrases “If it ain’t
broke don’t fix it” and “out of sight, out of mind” when seeking more
investment for preventative work. Yet failure to adequately address ageing
infrastructure can cause a big headache for many companies, diverting resources
and funds to remedial action and possibly impeding growth.

Customers don’t always fully understand the issues energy
and utility companies face and expect a reliable yet lowest-cost service. The
result is that, pushed to keep costs down, companies continue to sweat their
infrastructure assets beyond their original intended life so as to maximize
operational value, while even further demands are placed on those assets
through growth.This approach brings
increased risk of an infrastructure failure and no one wants to be to blame
when the lights go out.

A new report by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), based
on a global survey of executives in the oil & gas, utility, chemical and
natural resource industries, examines the impact of ageing infrastructure. A
key finding in the report is that one of the biggest perceived obstacles for organizations
is meeting infrastructure maintenance schedule and budget goals, resulting in
poor project planning, regulatory interference and a lack of resources. In addressing
those obstacles, there are things some companies may do to ease the problem of
aging infrastructure, without necessarily requiring large-scale additional
funding.The report found that many
organizations believed they could overcome obstacles, meet budget and expansion
goals through better planning processes. Deploying enterprise project portfolio
management (EPPM) could help to optimize use of key resources, improve planning
and project execution, and prioritize the right projects, amongst other
benefits.

Monday Nov 11, 2013

“The
process manufacturing industry is facing an unprecedented challenge: from now
until 2035, cumulative worldwide investments of US$38 trillion will be required
for drilling, power generation, and other energy projects,” Iain Graham,
director of energy and process manufacturing for Oracle’s Primavera, said in a
recent webcast. He adds that process manufacturing organizations such as oil
and gas, utilities, and chemicals must manage this level of investment in an
environment of constrained capital markets, erratic supply and demand, aging
infrastructure, heightened regulations, and declining global skills. In the
following interview, Graham explains how the right enterprise project portfolio
management (EPPM) technology can help the industry meet these imperatives. Q:
Why is EPPM so important for today’s process manufacturers?A: If the industry invests US$38
trillion without proper cost controls in place, a huge amount of resources will
be put at risk, especially when it comes to cost overruns that may occur in
large capital projects. Process manufacturing companies must not only control
costs, but also monitor all the various contractors that will be involved in
each project. If you’re not managing your own workers and all the
interdependencies among the different contractors, then you’ve got problems.

Q:
What else should process manufacturers look for?A: It’s also important that an EPPM
solution has the ability to manage more than just capital projects. For
example, it’s best to manage maintenance and capital projects in the same
system. Say you’re due to install a new transformer in a power station as part
of a capital project, but routine maintenance in that area of the facility is
scheduled for that morning. The lack of coordination could lead to unforeseen
delays. There are also IT considerations that impact capital projects, such as
adding servers and network cable for a control system in a power station. What
organizations need is a true EPPM system that’s not just for capital projects,
maintenance, or IT activities, but instead an enterprisewide solution that
provides visibility into all types of projects.

Friday Sep 13, 2013

The International
Energy Agency (IEA)
forecasts roughly a $38T capital outlay over the next 15 years for the energy
sector. Global energy and utility demand isexpected to increase by over
one-third in the period to 2035, while the primary energy supply mix shifts
considerably to natural gas and unconventional sources. The ability for global
power and process owners, operators, contractors, and E&C companies to meet
demand will largely depend on their ability to overcome five pain points: a constrained
capital market, erratic supply and demand, aging infrastructure, a heightened
regulatory environment, and declining global skills.

Iain Graham, director of Process
Manufacturing Strategy, Oracle Primavera, hosts a Webcast available On-Demand that spotlights
three strategic drivers—operational excellence, financial discipline, and risk
mitigation—which are key in driving success and helping to identify, select,
execute, operate, and maintain assets in an increasingly complex world. During
the Webcast, Iain discusses how financial discipline can help manage capital
expenses and focus capital on areas that drive greater shareholder value.
Through examples that Iain provides, you can learn how operational excellence
enhances efficiency, optimizes resource pools, and reduces waste and
inefficiencies. He also covers how improved awareness of cash flow and capital
expenditures can help any power and process company better manage and react to
uncertainty.

Read the full edition of Engineering News Record’s 2nd edition of Construction Connection to
discover more successes and stories in the current and emerging environment in
the engineering and construction industry.